Transformational Leadership Style For Producing Positive...

Transformational leadership is an effective leadership style for producing positive changes and strengthening organizations. These leaders are passionate, energetic, and focused on helping every member of the group succeed. The four dimensions of transformational leadership garner trust, respect, and admiration from followers in the organization. Organizational commitment results from employees being satisfied and devoted to the vision of the company. Another important trait of a transformational leader is emotional intelligence. It is necessary in relationship building and managing emotions in situations. Recognizing the limitations of transformational leadership and understanding the assets of various leadership styles will help a leader determine which style is most suitable for the occasion. 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Evaluation of Waste Tire Devulcanization Technologies Free Essays

string(36) " Heater or Pan process \(Oil law\)\." (INTERNAL REPORT) CENTERPLASTICS COMPOUND ADDITIVES Feb. 2011 – M. S. We will write a custom essay sample on Evaluation of Waste Tire Devulcanization Technologies or any similar topic only for you Order Now Laura Fontana – Centerplastics Enterprise, Ltd Eastern Industrial Road, zip. 516127, Shiwan Town, Boluo Area, Huizhou, DongGuan, GuangDong, P. R. China PPH Chapter 1 – Introduction Approximately 25 potential devulcanization technology researchers and developers were identified throughout the world, however, only a very small number of devulcanization systems are now operating. These are primarily small-capacity systems, which are devulcanizing natural or synthetic rubbers (as opposed to devulcanizing the mixture of rubbers recovered from waste tires). The general types of devulcanization technologies identified and analyzed in the study are shown below. Technology Basis of Processing Zone of Reaction Chemical Chemicals/chemical reactions Surface of particles Ultrasonic Ultrasonic waves Throughout particles Microwave Microwaves Throughout particles Biological Microorganisms Surface of particles Other Mechanical Steam Surface of particles Key findings Reliable information and data on devulcanization of waste tire rubber are difficult to obtain due to proprietary claims, efforts to hide poor or infeasible process performance and product quality, and the limited number of technology researchers and developers and of peer-reviewed data. Reliable data relating waste tire characteristics, devulcanized rubber quality, end product performance, and production costs is scarce.  · Only a very small number of low-capacity devulcanization systems are operating in the United States (at approximately 50 Kg /hr, all RD scale, mechanical, or ultrasonic). No proven commercial capacity units could be found that are currently devulcanizing waste tires, for example, at 500 Kg/hr or greater. The likely reasons include insufficient product quality and high costs of production.  · In terms of the potential of producing high-quality devulcanized rubbers (for example, high strength), the best technology appears to be ultrasonic, based on the current state of the art.  · Devulcanization of single rubbers has much more history than that of multi-rubber mixtures such as waste tires. Only a few companies devulcanize single formulation rubber as a result of captive conversion or merchant scrap recovery from manufacturing. The production of devulcanized rubber from home manufacturing scrap in the U. S represents about 1 to 2 percent of total U. S. rubber consumption.  · The quality of devulcanized single rubbers is higher than that of devulcanized multiple rubbers.  · Devulcanization that depends on surface devulcanization technologies (for example, chemical and mechanical) appears destined in the near term to produce low- or medium-quality devulcanized rubber material. The estimated cost for producing devulcanized materials from waste tires is $0. 3 to $0. 6/Kg  ± 30 percent, if including the cost of crumb rubber feedstock. This range of production costs is significantly greater than that of virgin rubbers. A typical tire compound contains the following constituents: Table 1. Composition of Tires Passenger Tire Constituents Common Materials Natural rubber 14 % Natural rubber Synthetic rubber 27% SBR, butadiene rubber Carbon black 28% Carbon black Steel 14%–15% Steel Fabric, fillers, accelerators, antiozonants, etc. 16%–17% Polyester, nylon, aromatic oil, coumarine resin, silica, bonding agent, stearic acid, ntioxidant, processing chemicals, sulfur, zinc oxide Truck Tire Natural rubber 27% Natural rubber Synthetic rubber 14% Synthetic rubber Carbon black 28% Carbon black Steel 14%–15% Steel Fabric, fillers, accelerators, antiozonants, etc. 16%–17% Polyester, nylon, aromatic oil, stearic acid, antioxidant, wax, processing chemicals, sulfur, zinc oxide Source: Rubber Manufacturers Association, 2004. †¢ Reclaiming is a procedure in which scrap tire rubber or vulcanized rubber waste is converted—using mechanical and thermal energy and chemicals—into a state in which it can be mixed, processed, and vulcanized again. The principle of the process is devulcanization (Franta, 1989). Historically and practically, in the concept of rubber reclaiming, devulcanization consists of the cleavage of intermolecular bonds of the chemical network, such as carbon-sulfur (C-S) and/or sulfur-sulfur (S-S) bonds, with further shortening of the chains also occurring (Rader, 1995). This description of devulcanization is different than that given below, which is limited to chemical interactions involving sulfur atoms. †¢ Reclaim is an interesting raw material as it reduces the production costs of new rubber articles, due to shorter mixing times and lower power consumption. The processing temperature is lower, and the material has a higher dimensional stability during calandering and extrusion due to the remaining three-dimensional network. The most important advantage of cured articles containing reclaim in terms of properties is an improvement of aging resistance. †¢ Devulcanization is the process of cleaving the monosulfidic, disulfidic, and polysulfidic crosslinks (carbon-sulfur or sulfur-sulfur bonds) of vulcanized rubber. Ideally, devulcanized rubber can be revulcanized with or without the use of other compounds. The different types of devulcanization processes also modify other properties of the rubbers. These processes cause diminution of some properties over those of the parent rubber. Ideally, devulcanization would yield a product that could serve as a substitute for virgin rubber, both in terms of properties and in terms of cost of manufacture. Polymers can be divided into two groups: thermoplastics and thermosetting materials. Thermoplastics soften when heated, making it possible to (re-)shape them at higher temperatures. Thermosetting materials, like rubbers, are crosslinked on heating and therefore cannot be softened or remodeled by raising the temperature. Therefore, thermosets are more difficult to recycle compared to thermoplastics. The three-dimensional network has to be broken in order to make the material (re-)processable: the so-called reclaiming process. In this process, either sulfur crosslinks connecting the polymer chains or carbon-carbon bonds in the polymer backbone are broken. The first mechanism is preferred, as the backbone of the polymer remains intact. Scission can be obtained by heat, shear or chemical reactions. Basically, processes of rupturing the rubber network by crosslink or main-chain scission can be classified into five main groups. †¢ Thermal reclaiming; †¢ Thermo-mechanical reclaiming; †¢ Mechano-chemical reclaiming; †¢ Reclaiming by radiation, and †¢ Microbial reclaiming. In actual practice, combinations of thermal and mechanical reclaiming are mostly used, with in some cases the addition of a devulcanization aid for chemical reclaiming. 1. 1-Thermal Reclaiming For this kind of processes, heat (often combined with addition of chemicals) is used to break the sulfur bonds and thus to plasticize the rubber. Hall patented in 1858 one of the oldest and most simple processes in the rubber reclaiming industry, the Heater or Pan process (Oil law). You read "Evaluation of Waste Tire Devulcanization Technologies" in category "Papers" In this process, finely ground natural rubber powder is mixed with oils and reclaiming agents and treated with high or medium pressure steam at temperatures varying from 170 °C to 200 °C. The reclaiming time is long and the homogeneity of the reclaim is low, but this process is able to reclaim a large number of polymers: natural rubber (NR), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), chloroprene rubber (CR), acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) and butyl rubber (IIR) and the equipment is rather inexpensive. The use of the heater or pan process became less popular after Marks patented the Digester or Alkali process in 1899. The fibers of the rubber scrap, remnants of the tire carcass, were first removed by mixing it with alkali, water, plasticizing oils and, if needed, chemical peptizers. The mixture was heated in a jacketed, agitator equipped autoclave to 180-210 °C. The most important disadvantage of this process is the pollution generated by the chemicals. Modifications of this process minimized the pollution, but increased the reaction times. Processes with short reaction times are for example the High Pressure Steam processes or the Engelke process. In the first process, a fiber-free, coarse ground rubber is mixed with reclaiming agents, and reclaiming is done in a high-pressure autoclave at approximately 280 °C. In the latter process, coarse ground rubber scrap is mixed with plasticizing oils and peptizers and is put into small autoclaves. The material is heated to very high temperatures for a short period of 15 minutes, after which it is lead through refiners (mills with very narrow gaps) and strainers. . 1. 1 – Steam With or Without Chemicals (Digester, DD-CR, HTDD-CR) Steam devulcanization of crumb rubber uses a steam vessel equipped with an agitator for continuous stirring of the crumb rubber while steam is being applied. There are two variants of the basis steam process, namely, â€Å"wet† and â€Å"dry. † The wet process uses caustic and water mixed with the rubber crumb, while the dry proce ss uses only steam. If necessary, various reclaiming oils may be added to the mixture in the reaction vessel. In one case, a wet process using diaryl disulfide and reclaiming oils with saturated steam at 190 °C (374 °F) was fed finely ground NR and synthetic rubber scraps. A charge of about 440 lbs. was partially devulcanized after 15 to 17 hours of processing. This process required 12 hours at ambient temperature for pre-treatment and 3 to 5 hours for steam or high temperature treatment (Adhikari, et al. , 2000). The dry process digester has the advantage of generating less pollution than the wet process. Scrap rubber containing natural and synthetic rubbers can be reclaimed by the steam digestion process. Reclaiming oil used for this process has molecular weights between 200 and 1000, consisting of benzene, alkyl benzene, and alkylate indanes. A generic processing diagram for steam devulcanization is shown in Figure A. Figure A. Schematic Diagram of a Steam Devulcanization System Devulcanized Rubber Dehydrating System Steam Reactor Rubber Crumb Chemical(s) Liquid By-Product 1. 2 – Thermo-Mechanical Reclaiming The thermo-mechanical reclaiming processes make use of shearing forces to plasticize the rubber. Energy is introduced into the materials, resulting in a significant temperature increase, high enough to cause thermal degradation. The Lancaster-Banbury process is one of the oldest processes. Fiber-free coarse ground rubber scrap is mixed with reclaiming agents and sheared in a high speed, high-pressure internal mixer. When a continuously working, multiscrew devulcanizer is used instead of the internal mixer, the process is called the Ficker reclaiming process. One of the first continuous reclaiming processes is the so-called reclaimator process. This is basically a single screw extruder that has been adapted to reclaim fibre-free rubber scrap in very short extrusion times. The short extrusion times make this method suitable for SBR, that tends to harden when longer recycling times are applied. Another mechanical reclaiming process is the De-Link process. In this process finely ground rubber powder is mixed with the De-Link masterbatch (DeVulc) : a zinc salt of dimethyldithiocarbamate and mercaptobenzothiazole in a molar ratio of 1:1 to 1:12, dispersed in thiols and activated by stearic acid, zinc oxide and sulfur. Advantages of the process are its simplicity and the fact that standard rubber equipment is used. No evidence is available to demonstrate that the De-Link process is used beyond laboratory or pilot scale. The Toyota process is another development of mechanical reclaiming. In this process a mixture of ground rubber, virgin rubber, oils and a devulcanization aid is masticated on a two-roll mill or in an extruder. Mechanical devulcanization is achieved through the repeated deformation of rubber particles under specific conditions of temperature and pressure. The result is a devulcanized rubber, ready for further processing. Toyota developed another continuous process, Toyota Gosei (TG) combining pulverization, reclaiming and deodorization. The rubber waste has to be ground to a particle size of 5-10 mm before it can be fed into a â€Å"modular screw-type reactor† with a pulverization zone and a reaction zone. The operating temperature is in the range of 100-300 °C and 100-900 rpm screw speeds are applied, the process requires about 100 Kw (kilowatts) to process 200 to 300 kg (kilograms)/hr of rubber, or approximately 0. 4 kW/kg. By manipulating screw configuration and rotational speed, and processing temperature, researchers are able to control the duration of the treatment. In this way they can, to some extent, control the properties of the devulcanizate. The TG process has been primarily, if not exclusively, used to devulcanize specific types of rubber compounds, such as NR and SBR. 1. 3 – Mechano-Chemical Reclaiming Mixing of the rubber powder with a peptizer (chemicals used to reduce the viscosity of NR) and a reclaiming agent prior to the mechanical breakdown of the material improves the reclaiming process. The devulcanization aid is supposed to selectively break the sulfur crosslinks in the rubber network. This chemical breakdown is combined with input of thermal and/or mechanical energy, as the rate of this process is sufficiently high only at higher temperatures. The most common devulcanization aids are disulfides, e. g. aryl disulfides or diphenyl sulfides, thiophenols and their zinc salts and mercaptanes. These chemical compounds are radical scavengers: they react with the radicals generated by chain- or crosslink scission and prevent recombination of the molecules. Typical concentrations for the reclaiming agents are 0. 5 to 4 wt%. Suitable peptizers are aromatic and naphthenic oils with a high boiling point. Figure B. Schematic Diagram of a Chemical Devulcanization System Devulcanization Agent Rubber Crumb Mixer Heated Extruder Devulcanized Filter Dryer Rubber Liquid By-Product Unfortunately, a detailed accounting of test materials, performance parameters, and conditions is lacking, thus inhibiting the extent of interpretation of the data. Comparisons of data are primarily limited to comparing the properties of virgin rubbers with compounds containing the virgin and devulcanized material at concentrations of about 30 percent devulcanized material. As shown by the data in the table, the properties of the mixtures containing devulcanized material are in general moderately lower than those of their virgin counterparts. The reported data reflect two different types of chemical devulcanization technologies. Table 2. Properties of Waste Tire Rubber Devulcanized Using Chemical or Chemical/Mechanical Technology Generic Technology Technology Surrogate Test Rubber Compound s % Devulc (or Ground) Mat’l Mooney Viscosity (ML-4 @ 212 °F) Tensile Strengt h (lbs/in2) 300% Modulus (lbs/ in2) Elongation to Break (%) Chemical STI-K Polymers DeLinka NR 0 61. 9 4,270 1,987 534 NR w/devulc NR 30 72. 3 4,020 2,151 489 Virgin SBR (1520) 0 96. 6 3,880 3,059 358 SBR (1520) w/devulc SBR 30 109. 2 3,580 2,923 345 Chemical/ Mechanical LandStar/ Guangzhou Research Instituteb NR 100 28. 4 680 SR 100 17. 2 514 AMRc Powder (devulc. additive) 100 23. 9 640 Tread Tire Compoundd 0 20. 3 772 28. 6 19. 7 628 Light Duty Truck Tire Compounde 0 23. 8 536 28. 6 20. 5 500 1. 4 – Reclaiming by Irradiation Bond type Dissociation energy (KJ/mol) C-C 349 C-S 302 S-S 273 Polysulfidic 253 Table 3. Typical bond energies 1. 4. 1 – Ultrasonic Rubber devulcanization by using ultrasonic energy was first discussed in Okuda and Hatano (1987). It was a batch process in which a small piece of vulcanized rubber was devulcanized using 50 kHz ultrasonic waves after treatment for 20 minutes. The process apparently could break down C-S and S-S bonds, but not carbon-carbon (C-C) bonds. The properties of the revulcanized rubber were found to be very similar to those of the original vulcanizates. One continuous process for devulcanization of rubbers is based on the use of high-power ultrasound electromagnetic radiation. This is a suitable way to recycle waste tires and waste rubbers. The ultrasonic waves, at certain levels, in the presence of pressure and heat, can quickly break up the three-dimensional network in crosslinked, vulcanized rubber. The process of ultrasonic devulcanization is very fast, simple, efficient, and it is free of solvents and chemicals. The rate of devulcanization is approximately one second. This may lead to the preferential breakage of sulfidic crosslinks in vulcanized rubbers. (Isayev, 1993; Yu. Levin, et al. , 1996; Isayev, et al. , 1997; Yun, et al. , 2001; Yun Isayev, April 2003). Under a license from the University of Akron for the ultrasonic devulcanization technology, NFM Company of Massillon, Ohio, has built a prototype of the machine for ultrasonic devulcanization of tire and rubber products (Boron, et al. 1996; Boron, et al. , 1999). It was reported that retreaded truck tires containing 15 and 30 weight percent (percent by weight) of ultrasonicallydevulcanized carbon black-filled SBR had passed the preliminary dynamic endurance test (Boron, et al. , 1999). Extensive studies on the ultrasonic devulcanization of rubbers, and some preliminary studies on ultrasonic decrosslinking of crosslink ed plastics, showed that this continuous process allows recycling of various types of rubbers and thermosets (Isayev, 1993; Hong Isayev, 2002 (pp. 160–168); Shim, et al. 2002; Shim Isayev, 2003; Gonzalez-de Los Santas, et al. , 1999). As a consequence of the process, ultrasonically-devulcanized rubber becomes soft, therefore enabling this material to be reprocessed, shaped, and revulcanized in very much the same way as virgin rubber. This new technology has been used successfully in the laboratory to devulcanize ground tire rubber (commonly referred to in the industry as GRT) (Isayev, et al. , 1995; Yun, et al. , 2001; Boron, et al. , 1996), unfilled and filled rubbers N (Hong Isayev, 2001; Yu. Levin, et al. , 1996; Isayev, et al. , 1997; Diao, et al. 1998; Shim, et al. , September 2002; Ghose Isayev, 2003), guayule rubber (Gonzalez-de Los Santas, et al. , 1999), fluoroelastomer, ethylene vinyl acetate foam, and crosslinked polyethylene (Isayev, 1993; Isayev Chen, 1994). After revulcanization, rubber samples exhibit good mechanical properties, which in some cases are comparable to or exceeding those of virgin vulcanizates. Structural studies of ultrasonically-treated rubber show that the breakup of chemical crosslinks is accompanied by the partial degradation of the rubber chain; that is, the C-C bonds (Isayev, et al. , 1995; Tukachinsky, et al. 1996; Yu. Levin, et al. , 1997 (pp. 641–649); Yushanov, et al. , 1998). The degree of degradation of C-C bonds can be substantial, depending on conditions. The mechanism of rubber devulcanization under ultrasonic treatment is presently not well understood, unlike the mechanism of the degradation of long-chain polymer in solutions irradiated with ultrasound (Suslick, 1988). Ultrasonic devulcanization also alters the revulcanization kinetics of rubbers. The revulcanization of devulcanized SBR appeared to be essentially different from those of virgin SBR (Yu. Levin, et al. , 1997, pp. 120–128). The induction period is shorter or absent for revulcanization of devulcanized SBR. This is also true for other unfilled and carbon black-filled rubbers such as ground rubber tire (GRT), SBR, natural rubber (NR), ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), and butadiene rubber (BR) cured by sulfur-containing curative systems, but not for silicone rubber cured by peroxide. Ultrasonically-devulcanized rubbers consist of sol and gel. The gel portion is typically soft and has significantly lower crosslink density than that of the original vulcanizate. Due to the presence of sol and soft gel, the devulcanized rubber can flow and is subject to shaping. Crosslink density and gel fraction of ultrasonically-devulcanized rubbers were found to correlate by a universal master curve (Yushanov, et al. , 1996; Diao, et al. , 1999; Yushanov, et al. , 1998). This curve is unique for every elastomer due to its unique chemical structure. In a comparative analysis of ultrasonically reclaimed unfilled SBR, NR and EPDM rubbers, it was found that it was more difficult to reclaim EPDM than NR and SBR. Reclaiming of EPDM roofsheeting resulted in a good quality reclaim, which after revulcanization showed more or less equal mechanical properties compared to the virgin compound. The surface smoothness of the revulcanized compounds could be controlled by the process conditions. Most companies marketing ultrasonic devulcanization technologies are utilizing very similar technologies involving cold feed extruders and varying physical arrangements of ultrasonic equipment. Ultrasonic devulcanization technology is actually composed of a â€Å"devulcanization system†Ã¢â‚¬â€ namely, extrusion and ultrasonic processing. Two key differences in some cases are the equipment and materials used to generate the ultrasonic energy required for the process, and the positioning of the transducer(s) relative to the extruder. Two different arrangements of ultrasonic devulcanization systems are shown in Figures C and D. In this type of devulcanization system, size-reduced rubber particles are loaded into a hopper and are subsequently fed into an extruder. The extruder mechanically pushes and pulls the rubber. This mechanical action serves to heat the rubber particles and softens the rubber. As the softened rubber is transported through the extruder cavity, the rubber is exposed to ultrasonic energy. The resulting combination of heat, pressure, and mechanical mastication is sufficient to achieve varying degrees of devulcanization. The time constant of the devulcanization process takes place in seconds. Essentially all of the rubber entering the process is discharged from the extruder in semi-solid product stream. Process losses would be primarily those due to emissions of fine particulates or of gases, if any, generated due to the mechanical and thermal processes occurring during the devulcanization process. After exiting through the extruder die, the rubber is passed through a cooling bath and then dried. Figure C. Schematic Diagram of an Ultrasonic Devulcanization System Showing a Mid- Extruder Location for the Ultrasonic Subsystem Ultrasonic Processing Zone Cooling Bath Devulcanized Rubber Extruder Rubber Crumb Feed Hopper Figure D. Schematic Diagram of an Ultrasonic Devulcanization System Showing the Ultrasonic Subsystem Located at the Discharge End of the Extruder Ultrasonic Processing Zone Cooling Bath Devulcanized Rubber Feed Hopper Extruder Rubber Crumb Table 4. Properties of Waste Tire Rubber Devulcanized Using Ultrasonic Technology Technology Surrogate Test Rubber Compound s % Devulc or (Ground) Mat’l Mooney Viscosity (ML-4 @ 212 °F) Tensile Strength (lbs/in2) 100% Modulus (lbs/ in2) 300% Modulus (lbs/ in2) Elongation to Break (%) U of Akron SBR 1848a 0 2,415 740 780 SBR (1848) w/devulc SBRa 10 1,075 790 540 SBR (1848) w/whole train reclaima (10) 1,940 760 660 SBR (1848) w/30 mesh buffingsa (10) 1,440 780 480 100% NR (SMR CV60) 0% SBR (23. 5% bound styrene, and Duraden 706)b 0 3,263 116 670 NR (SMR CV60) 25% SBR (23. 5% bound styrene, and Duraden 706)b 0 1,885 123 600 NR (SMR CV60) w/devulc SBR (23. 5% bound styrene, and Duraden 706)b 25 580 123 380 NR (SMR CV60) 50% SBR (23. 5% bound styrene, and Duraden 706)b 0 406 131 390 Technology Surrogate Test Rubber Compound s % Devulc or (Ground) Mat’l Mooney Viscosity (ML-4 @ 12 °F) Tensile Strength (lbs/in2) 100% Modulus (lbs/ in2) 300% Modulus (lbs/ in2) Elongation to Break (%) NR (SMR CV60) w/devulc SBR (23. 5% bound styrene, and Duraden 706)b 50 363 123 320 NR (SMR CV60) 75% SBR (23. 5% bound styrene, and Duraden 706)b 0 363 145 295 NR (SMR CV60) w/devulc SBR (23. 5% bound styrene, and Duraden 706)b 75 276 131 250 100% SBR (23. 5% bound sty rene, and Duraden 706)b 0 290 152 200 100% SBR (23. 5% bound styrene, and Duraden 706)b 100 290 138 180 Table 5. Percent Change from Virgin with Selected Devulcanization Rubber Formulations Test Rubber Compounds (grade) Parts or % % Devulc. or (Groun d) Mat’l. Hardnes s Shore Tear Strengt h Tensile Strengt h 100% Modulu s 300% Modulu s Elongatio n to Break Chemical STI-K Polymers DeLinka NR w/devulc NR 30 -5. 9% 8. 3% -8. 4% SBR (1520) w/devulc SBR 30 -7. 7% -4. 4% -3. 6% Kyoto Universityb Truck tire (93 NR+ 7 BR) 84 NR+ 6 BR + 20 devulc 18 8. 1% -2. 3% 2. 6% 0. 0% 74 NR+ 6 BR + 40 devulc 33 12. 9% -11. 9% 28. 2% -17. 4% 65 NR + 5 BR + 60 devulc 46 11. 3% -19. 1% 23. 1% -13. 0% LandStar/Guangzhou R Ic 100 SIR 10 + 50 devulc SIR vs. Case 1 33 4. 3% -23. 7% 6. 7% -6. 7% SIR vs. Case 2 33 6. 5% -23. 0% 11. 5% -8. 6% Tread Tire Compound 0 NR + 30 SR + 20 CIS-BR +40 AMR 28. 6 6. 7% -17. 3% -3. 0% -18. 7% Light Duty Truck Tire Compound 30 NR + 70 SR + 0 CIS-BR + 40 AMR 28. 6 1. 6% -10. 9% -13. 9% -6. 7% Retread Tire Compound c65 NR + 35 SR +40 AMR 28. 6 6. 3% -8. 6% -10. 3% -16. 8% Ultrasonic University of Akrond Versus Akrochem SBR (1848) SBR w/devulc SBR 10 -55. 5% 6. 8% -30. 8% Test Rubber Compounds (grade) Parts or % % Devulc. or (Groun d) Mat’l. Hardnes s Shore Tear Strengt h Tensile Strengt h 100% Modulu s 300% Modulu s Elongatio n to Break SBR w/whole Tire Reclaim 10 -19. 7% 2. 7% -15. 4% SBR w/30 Mesh Buffings 10 -40. 4% 5. 4% -38. % Natural Rubber and SBR versus devulc Base 100% NR (SMR CV60) 0% SBR (23. 5% bound styrene, and Firestone Duraden 706) 0 Add 25% SBR, 75% NR 0 -42. 2% 6. 3% -10. 4% Devulc SBR replaces SBR 25% devulc SBR, 75% NR 25 -69. 2% 0. 0% -36. 7% 50% devulc SBR, 50% NR 50 -10. 7% -5. 6% -17. 9% 75% devulc SBR, 25% NR 75 -24. 0% -10. 0% -15. 3% SBR versus devulc SBR 100% devulc SBR 100 0. 0% -9. 5% -10. 0% Heavy carbon-blacked rubber is the hardest to devulcanize, and silica, or other mineral-filled EDPM, is the easiest. Reincorporation of the devulcanized rubber is typically in the 20 to 40 percent range. Devulcanized single-product rubber applications are wide ranging. The reclaimed product may be reintroduced into the same end product or one with more tolerant performance characteristics for the devulcanized rubber. Devulcanized rubber seems to have advantages in bonding, strength, and tread integrity above the properties of crumb rubber, which acts only as a â€Å"rubber†-like filler. According to one developer of a devulcanization process, about 3 to 10 percent of the final product can be blended into virgin material before performance properties are affected. Variations of a few percent are reported by developers of devulcanization when they vary process run conditions. Run-to-run variations are normally acceptable. Devulcanized single rubber products have a much lower degree of degradation than multiple rubber mixtures with devulcanized rubber. Virgin single-grade SBR—or natural rubber replacement with devulcanized material shown by the STI-K and the University of Akron datasets —has, at worst, a reduction of 10 percent in tensile strength, modulus, or elongation. In some cases, the addition of devulcanized rubber causes a major reduction in performance of some properties, along with improvements in one or two properties (hardness and modulus). Because the modulus is the measure of deformation—that is, tension (stretching), compression (crushing), flexing (bending), or torsion (twisting). Similarly, the increase in hardness could be an improvement or detraction, depending on the application. The devulcanized rubber properties displayed are not necessarily optimized for a specific end use. Formulators will likely be able to incorporate devulcanized rubber along with other formulation components to achieve a higher level of final product performance. Key product performance variables are level of contamination, number of rubber types in the rubber mixtures, and additives used by the formulations. The effect of additives was discussed previously under â€Å"Product Characteristics. † The number of types of rubber in waste tires is one of the most important factors affecting quality of devulcanized waste tire rubber. Optimizing a devulcanization process is very difficult when more than one type of rubber is involved. Depending on the process used, process conditions, the material, and the blending level of the devulcanized rubber, most properties will be reduced by a few percent to more than two-thirds of those of the virgin material. In situations where the devulcanized rubber properties are within 10 percent of the original rubber material, blending would seem to be an attractive opportunity that offers the potential of adding a low-cost recycled substitute. The best operating model for devulcanizers of single rubber formulation is a dedicated devulcanization line (or long run) of specific rubber. Smaller volumes of single formulations require incurring extra costs for downtime and lost product caused by the cleanout between runs. The devulcanized rubber itself and some of its additives and fillers—such as carbon black— presumably add value. These fillers take the place of new additives and fillers that would otherwise be necessary. 1. 4. 2 – Microwave Microwave technology has also been proposed to devulcanize waste rubber (Fix, 1980; Novotny, et al. 1978). This process applies the heat very quickly and uniformly on the waste rubber. The method employs the application of a controlled amount of microwave energy to devulcanize a sulfur-vulcanized elastomer— containing polar groups or components—to a state in which it could be compounded and revulcanized into useful products such as hoses. The process requ ires extraordinary or substantial physical properties. On the basis of the relative bond energies of C-C, C-S, and S-S bonds, the scission of the S-S and carbon-sulfur crosslinks appeared to take place. However, the material to be used in the microwave process must be polar enough to accept energy at a rate sufficient to generate the heat necessary for devulcanization. This method is a batch process and requires expensive equipment. Figure E. Schematic Diagram of a Microwave Devulcanization System Rubber Crumb Microwave Unit Devulcanized Rubber Cooling System 1. 5 – Microbial Reclaiming Thiobacillus-bacteria are able to oxidise the sulfur in polysulfonic bonds to sulphate. This reaction is limited to a surface layer of the rubber with a thickness of less than 1 ? and the oxidation takes several weeks. The thiophilic bacteria Sulfolobus Acidocaldarius is able to split carbonsulfur bonds in a stepwise oxidation reaction of the carbon-bound sulfur into a sulfoxide, a sulfone and finally to a sulphate8, 9. The disadvantage of these processes is the low devulcanization rate. Apparently, these types of biological devulcanization processes are exclusively or primarily limited to the surface layers of the elastomers (Christiansson, et al. , 1998). This circumstance may explain the overall low rates of desulfurization based on total mass processed. Figure F. Schematic Diagram of Biological Devulcanization System Microorganisms and Host Media Mixer/ Reactor Rubber Crumb Devulcanized Rubber Dryer Filter By-Product Gases Liquid By-Product Chapter2 – Cost Analysis Given the lack of information in the literature, the cost estimates are based on a synthesis of information and data from multiple sources for a given generic type of technology; The analysis was generally performed by determining the costs (capital and operating and maintenance) of the processes and equipment described in the available literature. The cost analyses were conducted for three technologies that use different processing approaches: chemical, ultrasonic, and mechanical. * The key processing elements of each of these technologies have been previously described in this report, and they serve as the primary basis of estimating capital and operating and maintenance costs. The data in Table 6 summarize the capital costs and operating and maintenance costs for the technologies analyzed. The data for the capital cost analysis include an allowance for engineering services for the construction of the facility. The information shows that the capital costs for the processes vary from about $92,000 to about $166,000. ** Insufficient technical information and data were found during the study to enable reliable cost analyses for other devulcanization technologies. Table 6. Estimated Unit Costs for the Production of Devulcanized Rubber Item Mechanical Chemical Ultrasonic Capacity (lb/hr) 100 75 75 Capital Cost ($) 92,000 166,000 163,000 O Cost ($) 135,000 172,000 136,000 Amortized Capital and O ($) 143,000 186,000 150,000 Amortized Unit Cost ($/lb) 0. 7 1. 2 1. 0 Interest rate: 6% per year; Amortization period: 20 years Similarly, the data in the table indicate that the operating and maintenance costs for facilities of this type range from about $135,000 to $172,000. The operating cost estimates include the cost of crumb rubber feedstock for each of the processes. Based on the relative small size of the facilities, the costs of the rental of a building for processing in operating and maintenance are included. This eliminated the cost of building a structure. As shown in the Table, the estimated amortized costs for producing devulcanized rubber are: $1. 0/lb for the ultrasonic process, $1. 2/lb for the chemical process, and $0. 7/lb for the mechanical process. The analysis used an interest rate of 6 percent per year and an amortization period of 20 years. Due to uncertainties represented by the lack of detailed technical data and operating history for the technologies, the accuracy of the cost estimates is +/- 30 percent. As mentioned earlier, these costs reflect production at low capacities. Some reduction in unit cost would likely occur due to economies of larger scale production. However, estimating reduction in unit cost is difficult because of the lack of data relating to production costs to different levels of throughput capacity for particular devulcanization technologies. For the size of operations considered in this analysis, labor costs are a substantial portion of the production costs. It is very difficult, however, to estimate the magnitude of any potential reductions in unit labor costs that might occur if processing capacities were increased substantially. All circumstances considered, any estimates of commercial production costs for devulcanization of waste tire rubber are highly speculative at best. The best estimate of the study team is that perhaps production costs could be reduced by 25 to 30 percent if processing capacities were increased by a factor of approximately 5 to 10. The estimates of processing costs developed in this study do not include the costs of pollution control. The chapter lists the types of emissions that could be expected. The difficulty of permitting such a process and the cost of compliance with environmental regulations may comprise a significant barrier to the implementation of this technology. Conceivably, pollution control costs could add 10 to 30 percent to the cost of devulcanization. The difficulty of permitting—and the cost—would be a function of the type of devulcanization technology, the processing rates, and other factors. In general, the expectation is that the cost of environmental control systems for chemical devulcanization systems would be greater than that for ultrasonic or mechanical processes. The composition of rubber and additives that are used in rubber compounds in the manufacture of vulcanized rubber can and do have a dramatic effect on the properties of materials manufactured from devulcanized rubber. Apparently, the inferior properties of some poorly (inadequately) devulcanized rubber can be compensated for by the addition of chemicals and the adjustment of operating conditions, among other remedies. In many cases in the literature, this situation is not addressed or discussed. Consequently, comparing devulcanization technologies is difficult. From most of the literature descriptions of the processes, what happens to the sulfur and other vulcanization chemicals during the various processes is unclear. Chapter 3 – Environmental Analysis Little information is available in the literature on the environmental effects associated with waste tire devulcanization technologies. The lack of information apparently exists because business developers and researchers have concentrated their efforts primarily on technology improvements and achieving satisfactory properties for devulcanized rubber, an estimation of emission rates and a detailed environmental analysis are therefore not possible. However, using data and information from some other types of tire manufacturing processes (for example, extrusion of rubber) and the characteristics of vehicle tires, a qualitative analysis was performed. The environmental analysis described subsequently is limited to chemical and ultrasonic devulcanization and assumes that control of emissions would be required. 3. 1 – Chemical technology Chemical devulcanization processes are usually batch processes that involve mixing crumb rubber with chemical reactants at a specific temperature and pressure. Once the design reaction time has elapsed, the contents are then rinsed, filtered, and dried to remove any remaining unwanted chemical components. The product can then be bagged or otherwise processed for resale. A block flow diagram of a generic chemical devulcanization process is illustrated in Figure G, showing the raw material feed is crumb rubber. The crumb rubber is mixed with one or more devulcanization agents. Chemical agents identified as devulcanization agents are listed in Table 8. During processing in the batch reactor, vapors are released that must be collected and treated before release to the ambient atmosphere. Typical types of vapors that might be emitted from a batch reactor are listed in Table 9. The chemicals that would be vented from the batch reactor are dependent on the characteristics of the waste tire feedstock and on the chemical agent(s) used in devulcanizing the crumb rubber. For example, if disulfides are used in the process, they could result in formation of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or methyl or other mercaptans (RSH). If the chemical agent orthodichlorobenzene is used, chlorinated hydrocarbons could potentially be released in the form of air emissions. Methyl iodide is volatile, and if used as a devulcanization agent, it could be vaporized. Since tire manufacturing utilizes zinc oxide and zinc carbonate, chemical devulcanization might also produce airborne metal particulates. Once the batch is fully processed, the reactor is vented. The vent gases are treated prior to release to the atmosphere. The vapors cannot be treated by vapor phase carbon because these chemicals will plate out and blind the carbon, making it ineffective. Instead, the vapor from the batch reactor needs to be thermally oxidized. At the high exit temperatures, typically as high as 2000 °F (1100 °C), the thermal oxidizer vent gases need to be cooled in a quench tower to approximately 300 °F (150 °C). Then, to remove any metals or other particulate, the vent gases are piped to a baghouse. Because of the high thermal oxidizer temperatures, methyl mercaptans (RSH) or hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from the crumb rubber is oxidized to sulfur dioxide (SO2). Therefore, downstream of the baghouse, a scrubber is required to remove sulfur dioxide (SO2), as shown in Figure G. Scrubbed vent gases are then released to the atmosphere. In addition to the scrubber vent gases described above, liquid waste is generated from the scrubber. This liquid stream contains sodium sulfate (Na2SO4). This liquid waste can be disposed in receiving waters such as a river, stream, or bay. However, discharging to receiving waters will require a significant amount of treatment equipment and eventually a permit. As seen in Figure G, the devulcanized rubber is moved from the batch reactor to a separator by a heated extruder. Liquid that drips off the devulcanized rubber is removed in the separator and eliminated by feeding it to the same thermal oxidizer as the vent gases from the batch reactor. After the liquid has dripped off the devulcanized rubber in the separator, any remaining moisture is removed in the dryer. Fired dryers are typically fueled by natural gas burners. Dryer vent gases are piped to the common thermal oxidizer. Based on the concentration of solids in the scrubber effluent, processing the scrubber effluent through a filter press to dewater the solids may be necessary and cost-effective. Filter-pressed dewatered solids are called â€Å"filter cake. Filter cake might require disposal in a hazardous waste site. Even though the waste disposal site may accept the scrubber effluent water, the economics may favor installation and use of a filter press. This is necessary to dewater the solids due to the high cost of disposal of liquid waste. Figure G. Block Flow Diagram of a Chemical Devulcan ization System Solids H2O Batch Reactor Heated Extruder Separator Crumb Rubber Devulcanization Agent 300 ° F Liquids Devulcanized Rubber Dryer Natural Gas Vapors Thermal Oxidizer Quench Tower Baghouse Natural Gas Scrubber 2000 ° F 300 ° F H2O Air Emissions Air Emissions to Atmosphere Effluent Water Table 7. Tire Raw Materials Polymers Antiozonants Natural Rubber (polyisoprene) 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline (polymer) Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) n,n-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-pphenylenediamine cis-Polybutadiene copolymer paraffinic wax Vulcanizing Agents Antioxidants Sulfur Alkylphenols Tetra-methyl thiurame sulfide Resorcinol Accelerators 2,6-Diterbutylhydroquinone Diphenylguanidine Retarders 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole n-Cyclohexylthiophthalimide n-Cyclohexyl-2-benzothiazolylsulfenamide Plasticizers 2-(n-Morpholinyl)-mercaptobenzothiazole Aliphatic oil Hexamethylenetetramine Aromatic oil Activators Naphthenic oil Zinc oxide Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate Zinc carbonate Extenders Stearic acid Silica gel Carbon black Table 8. Chemical Agents Used in Chemical Tire Devulcanization Processes Triphenyl phosphine Sodium di-n-butyl phosphite Thiol-amine reagents (specifically propane-thiol/piperidine, dithiothreitol, and hexane-lthiol) Lithium aluminum hydride Phenyl lithium Methyl iodide Hydroxide with quaternary ammonium chloride as a catalyst Orthodichlorobenzene Diphenyldisulphide Diallyl disulfide Toluene, naphtha, benzene, and/or cyclohexane, etc. in the presence of sodium Diamly disulfide Dibenzyl disulfide Diphenyl disulfide Bis(alkoxy aryl) disulfides Butyl mercaptan and thiopenols Xylene thiols Phenol sulfides and disulfides Alkyl phenol sulfides (for SBR) N,N-dialkyl aryl amine sulfides (for SBR in neutral or alkaline solutions) 3. 2 – Ultrasonic technology Devulcanization by ultrasonic methods may be a continuous process (see Figure H). As the figure illustrates, crumb rubber is loaded into a hopper and is subsequently fed into an extruder. The extruder mechanically pushes and pulls the rubber. This mechanical action serves to heat the rubber particles and soften the rubber. As the softened rubber is transported through the extruder cavity, the rubber is exposed to ultrasonic energy. The resulting combination of ultrasonic energy, along with the heat, pressure, and mechanical mastication, is sufficient to achieve varying degrees of devulcanization. The exposure time to the ultrasonic energy is only seconds. Essentially all of the rubber entering the process is discharged from the extruder in a semi-solid product stream. Process losses would be primarily emissions of fine particulate or of gases, if any, resulting from the mechanical and thermal applications occurring during devulcanization. Since the typical operating temperature of an ultrasonic devulcanization reactor is about 230 °F (110 °C), less vapor emission would be expected than from chemical devulcanization. Furthermore, since no chemicals are added to break the sulfur bonds that caused vulcanization to occur, there would likely be lower air emissions. After exiting through the extruder die, the rubber is passed through a cooling bath and then dried. Vented vapors would need to be treated by one of two methods. One method would be to use a small thermal oxidizer. The design of the thermal oxidizer, baghouse, and scrubber would be similar to that described previously for chemical devulcanization. However, the physical size of the oxidizer would be smaller, and the baghouse and scrubber would be larger. A second method to treat the vent gases exiting the ultrasonic devulcanization reactor would be use of vapor phase carbon. In this method, due to the lower operating temperatures of the ultrasonic process, vent gas exiting the ultrasonic zone would have to be heated above the dew point temperature. If this elevation in temperature is not accomplished, the vent gases could condense on the surface of the carbon and thus blind the bed. In other words, adsorption sites on the surface of the carbon would be ineffective, and vent gases would exit the carbon bed untreated. If vapor phase carbon were to be used, the capital cost would be less than that of a thermal oxidizer. However, carbon is not very efficient. Weight loading can be approximately 10 weight percent—in other words, adsorbing ten pounds of vent gas contaminants for every 100 pounds of carbon used. Use of carbon will have a relatively high operating cost. Also, the disposal of spent carbon can be very expensive. This is especially true if the spent carbon requires disposal at a hazardous waste disposal site. Even if the carbon is regenerated on-site, adsorption efficiency decreases after each regeneration. Typically, carbon can only be regenerated ten times. For illustration purposes, Figure H indicates the use of vapor phase carbon. Devulcanized rubber exiting the ultrasonic processing zone has to be cooled. A common method of reducing the rubber temperature is a cooling bath. The volume of cooling water used would be significant. Cooling water may become ontaminated from the process; this effluent water leaving the cooling bath has to be treated. If an air cooler such as fin fans is used in lieu of water in the cooling bath, the volume of effluent liquid would be reduced. Another alternative would be to use a closed-loop cooling system, where the cooling water is cooled and returned to the process for reuse. If there is a buildup of contaminants, a small slipstream could be taken off and treated in a POTW, greatly reducing the amount of effluent that would otherwise require treatment. Figure H. Block Flow Diagram of an Ultrasonic Devulcanization System Ultrasonic Processing Zone Cooling Bath Devulcanized Rubber Feed Hopper Extruder Crumb Rubber Cooling Water Supply Effluent Water Heater Air Emissions Baghouse Carbon Air Emissions to Atmosphere Table 9. Potential Types of Chemical Compounds Emitted by Chemical and Ultrasonic Devulcanization Technologies Compound Probable Source Benzene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Methylcyclohexane Plasticizers: Na phthemic oil Toluene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Heptane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil 4-Vinylcyclohexene Polymers: Natural Rubber (polyisoprene), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), cis- Polybutadiene Ethylbenzene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Octane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil p-Xylene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Styrene Polymers: styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) Nonane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil 1,4-Cyclohexadiene-1-isopropyl-4- methyl Polymers: Natural Rubber (polyisoprene) Isopropylbenzene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Cyclohexene-1-methyl-3-(1- methylvinyl) Polymers: Natural Rubber (polyisoprene) Propylbenzene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Benzaldehyde Polymers: styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) 1-isopropyl-4-methylcyclohexane (trans) Plasticizers: Naphthemic oil 1-isopropyl-4-methylcyclohexane cis) Plasticizers: Naphthemic oil 1-isopropyl-3-methylcyclohexane Plasticizers: Naphthemic oil Decane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil Tri-isobutylene Polymers: styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) cis-Polybutadiene; Plasticizers: Naphthemic oil Cyclohexene-5-methyl-3-(1- methylvinyl) Polymers: Natural Rubber (polyisoprene) Indane Plasticizers: Naphthemic oil 1-Isopropyl-4-methylbenzene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Cyclohexene-1-methyl-4-(1- methylvinyl) Polymers: Natural Rubber (polyisoprene) 1-Isopropyl-2-methylbenzene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Dimethylstyrene Polymers: styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) Undecane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil Tetramethylbenzene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydronaphthalene Plasticizers: Naphthemic oil 1,3-Di-isopropyl benzene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil 1,4-Di-isopropyl benzene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Compound Probable Source 2-Isopropyl-6-methylphenol Antioxidents: Alkylphenols Cyclohexylisothiocyanate Retarders: n-Cyclohexyl-thiophthalimide Cyclododecatriene Polymers: cis-Polybutadiene Dodecane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil Tridecane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil Tetraisobutylene Polymers: styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) cis-Polybutadiene; Plasticizers: Naphthemic oil -ter-Butylstyrene Polymers: styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) Dimethylpropylhexahydronaphthale ne Plasticizers: Naphthemic oil Tetradecane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil Nonylbenzene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil 2,6-Di-ter-butyl-p-quinone Antioxidents: 2,6-Diterbutyl-hydroquinone Pentadecane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil 1,6-dimethyl-4-isopropyl-1,2,3,4- tetra-hydronaphthalene Plasticize rs: Naphthemic oil Decylbenzene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Di-ter-butylthiophene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Diethyl phthalate Plasticizers: Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate Hexadecane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil ,2-Di-tolylethane Polymers: styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) Heptadecane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil 2,6-Di-ter-butyl-4-ethylphenol Antioxidents: Alkylphenols Octadecane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil 1-Phenylnaphthalene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Di-iso-butyl phthalate Plasticizers: Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate Tridecylbenzene Plasticizers: Aromatic oil Dibutyl phthalate Plasticizers: Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate Eicosane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil Heneicosane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil Docosane Plasticizers: Aliphatic oil Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate Plasticizers: Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate Chapter 4 – Conclusions Devulcanization of specific types of rubber and/or waste tire rubber has a long history. However, only recently have limited technical data been reported in the available literature. Usually when reported, the tested properties of devulcanized rubber compose an incomplete list. This is especially true in the interpretation of how the devulcanized product would perform during compounding, in the manufactured end product, or both. Circumstantial and anecdotal evidence indicates significant technical and economic barriers to devulcanization of waste rubber. Based on the information collected in the study, is believed that the only method of achieving bulk devulcanization, as opposed to surface devulcanization, rests with ultrasonic or microwave devulcanization methods. Of these two methods of energy application, ultrasound appears to have substantially more research and development history. An important observation is that microwave technology is not an effective or efficient way to devulcanize non-polar rubber types, which collectively compose the vast majority of the mass of rubber in waste rubbers. Because of the ability to internally devulcanize cured rubber, ultrasonically devulcanized waste tire rubber may have more desirable marketing characteristics than those of surface-devulcanizing processes under similar conditions of cost and yield. The latter processes (surface devulcanizing) include mechanical, chemical, and biological processes. However, test data and applications for ultrasonically devulcanized waste rubber are lacking in the industry, along with process cost documentation. The devulcanized rubber market is most fully developed for single product materials made from manufacturing scrap that are reclaimed for reuse in the same process or in a broader specification application. The reprocessing of single rubbers depends upon being located near a large-volume rubber products company with enough scrap and enough rubber applications to justify the devulcanization step. Devulcanization of waste rubber, despite considerable research and developmental effort, is still in an early growth stage. Devulcanization lacks adequate test data and data interpretation, and it has poorly defined end product specifications without adequately justified and defined applications and uses. Research funds appear to be most available for studying devulcanization of single rubber types, as opposed to studying rubber types with complex mixtur. In applications already using crumb rubber, devulcanized rubber can have advantages if the process combines a vulcanized rubber or other compatible material to create an integrated structure. The structure must have much better properties than those imparted by the filler role that crumb rubber frequently serves. 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Profits and Pandemics Service Quality Management in Hospitality

Question: Discuss about the Profits and Pandemics for Service Quality Management in Hospitality. Answer: Introduction The report illustrates the facts of the industry and a chosen organization in that sector of industry. In this study, fast food market of Australia is selected and the analysis of the market will be conducted in the light of the organization Eagle Boys pizza in Australia. Eagle Boys is a restaurant chain in delivering pizza to the Aussies from decades ago. It is one of the biggest companies in delivering pizzas when compared to other fast food retail chains of Australia. Eagle Boys is a multinational channel fast food restaurant has its branches in many parts of the world. The company is focused on its value of innovation, responsiveness, professionalism, consistency, equality and dedication towards growth. The study will discuss about the growth, profitability and recent trends of the industry along with nature of competition, role of primary target market segment into decision-making and positioning map for the company in terms of competition and primary target markets. Apart from that, theoretical concepts of PESTEL analysis and STP in determining the positioning map and position of the organization amongst competitor brands in the Australian fast food market. In the study, trends of fast food market of Australia are also be described in a detailed manner. Industry trends The industry chosen for analyzing is fast food market in Australia in the perspective of performance and positioning of Eagle Boys in Australia. The current trends of the industry will be described in the light of growth, profitability and macro environment of the industry. The fast food industry of Australia comprises of restaurants, cafes, fast food outlets, catering services, etc. However, the facts and figures of the industry will be described under the following categories (Lang Heasman, 2015). The growth of the fast food industry is booming. The facts that will be mentioned below will illustrate the revenue and growth of the industry in Australia. The revenue of the market is nearly $3.7bn. On the other hand, the annual growth of the industry in the year of 2016 is 2.8%. The industry structure in Australia is described in the following: Life cycle stage of the industry is in mature stage. The revenue volatility of the industry is low (Sacks et al., 2015). The capital intensity of the industry is medium. The industry assistance is low. The concentration level of the industry is medium. Regulation level of the fast food industry is medium. Technology change is medium. Barriers to entry of companies in this industry are low. Globalization of the fast food industry is low. On the other hand, the most important is the competition level that is high (Morley et al., 2013). The strong growth of the industry especially the pizza restaurants of Australia is forecasted up to 0.9% in the year of 2017. The revenue in the year will reach up to $3.7bn. Demands of the consumers are changing day by day. The key factors of growth of the fast food industry in Australia are product innovation and diversified demands of customers. Profitability The profitability of the industry is depended on some external drivers that are responsible for creating an impact on the profitability of the industry. The key external drivers are consumer sentiment index, health consciousness, demands other fast food services, real household discretionary income. Due to the convenience of the customers, operators of the industry are focused in improving the customer service while increasing the sales of the operators (Moodie et al., 2013). To maintain the quality of the foods, the prices of the fast foods by many operators have been charged high. However, it is seen that customers are willing to pay more in order to consume high quality foods from the restaurant chains. It can be said that, due to increase in the automation because of innovation of technology, the reliance of the industry in terms of labor is reducing day by day with the decrease of wages (Wellard et al., 2012). Macro Environment Fast food industry is in the mature stage. Many companies are present in the Australian market that are providing ample options of fast foods in the market to the customers. As it is in the mature phase, the growth of the industry is supposed to be 2.6%. However, it is seen that the growth of GDP annually is 2.5%. Hence, the growth rate is according to the growth of the annual GDP of the country (Hobin et al., 2014). There is a shift in the taste and preference of the customers in terms of consuming fast food. People are becoming more health conscious and are becoming choosy in consuming fast foods from the retail outlets. Following this trend, the companies of the fast food industry are shifting their menus from oily to less calorie oriented healthy organic foods with low sugar and carbohydrate content. However, macro environment of fast food industry will be analyzed by using PESTEL analysis, which will be discussed, in the appendix section of the study (Booth Whelan, 2014). Market segments overall The market segments of the operators of the fast food industry i.e. Eagle Boys along with other operators of the industry can be categorized into primary and secondary target markets. Eagle Boys has used the segmentation of demographic and geographic segmentation for selecting the primary and secondary target markets. Geographic segmentation of the target markets illustrates the different geographic divisions of the country. The primary target market i.e. target country of Eagle Boys is Australia (Mok et al., 2013). Apart from that, the company has expanded its business operation from Australia to many countries of the world. It is considered as the secondary target segment in terms of geographic segmentation. Segmentation targeting and positioning is important for determining the particular target customers in order to cater the needs and demands of the customers. Beside this, the marketing strategies of the company are also formulated on the basis of the primary and secondary targe t customers to the company. Another form of segmentation of the target customers is demographic segmentation (Dunn, 2012). The demographic segmentation is conducted based on age groups. The target market is categorized into three categories of age groups. The three age groups are people aged between 15 to 34 years, second is people between age 35 to 54 years of age and the last is people of aged 55 years of age and more than that. The age group between 15 to 34 years of age is considered as the primary target segment of customers of Eagle Boys. The characteristics of people of these age groups are fewer commitments in life, i.e. having no mortgage or responsibilities of children. It is reason of having a discretionary income to them and the spending nature of the customers are reckless (Louviere et al., 2013). Total percentage of this category of customers is 38.8%. It is seen that the people between these ages are proven to spend a substantial amount of their monthly income in consuming fast foods that includes eating pizzas. When compared to the older demographics, these people have a lower level of in come. The characteristics of middle-aged people i.e. between 35 to 54 years are different from that of the previous age groups. It is the largest revenue generator target-segment of customers. Almost 40.9% of the revenue of the industry are generated from them. These people usually have families and come to restaurant for eat away usually with families (Hearst et al., 2013). Well-settled well-established careers along with steady income are the reason of buying higher priced products i.e. pizzas both for themselves and for their families. The last age group i.e. people above 55 years of age do not spend much on fast foods. Nevertheless, they cannot be ignored. These people usually buy pizzas occasionally rather than everyday meal purpose. It can be said that from these age group, the operators of the fast food industry including Eagle Boys collect 20.3% of revenue. Hence, this segment is considered as secondary target segment of customers. Primary segment and decision-making Eagle Boys is recognized as one of the most popular fast food retail chain in selling high quality pizzas to the Aussies. Involvement of primary segment of customers means the people between 35 to 54 years of age. Involvement of customers in the decision making process of customers illustrates the commitment of the company towards its customers. It is discussed earlier that Eagle Boys is dedicated in innovation and maintaining consistency and equality. Apart from that, the company is known for its community involvement in its different strategic business decisions (Nestle, 2013). Involvement of customers will lead to 110% dedication towards excellent customer service. It will lead to more loyal and satisfied customers along with Word of Mouth Promotion (WOM). The culture of the company is open that embrace the ideas of the customers while improving their business strategies in catering the latent needs of the customers. Innovation and passion along with involvement of primary segment in terms of decision making also helps in improving the brand image and create a positive impact on the minds of the people (Bauer et al., 2012). Ultimately the involvement will not only increase the image of the brand but also increase the profitability of the company. Eagle Boys involve primary segment of customers in many ways such as loyalty programs, excellent customer service, involving customers into various in store activities, interacting with the customers. Interaction with the customers with the employees present in the stores will automatically help in collecting feedback from the, feedback is collected regarding the products and services provided by the company in order to satisfy the customers. It is an indirect involvement in the decision making process of the company (Belasco, 2014). Valuable feedback of the customers are recorded in a detailed manner so that in the development of the products and services Eagle Boys implement them so that they can get more loyalty from their existing segments as well as attracting more segments of customers. However, Customers are also included as the external stakeholders of Eagle Boys (Handford et al., 2014). It can be said that the involvement of external and internal stakeholders in the strategi c decision making process of the companies help in formulating strategies that will yield fruitful results in the long run. Apart from that, in the online presence of company, customers of Eagle Boys are connected with the company in many ways (Han et al., 2013). It can be said that, online engagement of customers is more than that of involvement of customers in the decision making process of the company through its online stores. Competition In the industry analysis, it is mentioned that the fast food market of Australia is very competitive in nature. Apart from that, fast food market not only in Australia but also across the world. Hence, it can be said that Eagle Boys in Australia faces tough competition from the other rival brands of fast foods in Australia. It can be said that there are two types of competitors of Eagle Boys in the market. The direct competitors of Eagle Boys in Australia are Dominos, Pizza hut, EBA Pizza Holdings Pty Ltd, La Porchetta Holdings Pty Ltd, etc. Apart from that, there are indirect competitors of Eagle Boys. They are Burger King, McDonalds, Starbucks, KFC, Yum Street, Donut King, etc. However, other local fast food restaurants are popular among different areas of Australia (Harris et al., 2013). Presence of these companies has made a wide availability of choices for the customers for various kinds of fast foods. On the other hand, it can be said that the supermarket giants of Australia ar e providing tough competition to the company. They are engaged in selling different kinds of fast foods as well as organic healthy foods under their private label brands. The trends of the taste and preference of customers are changing day by day. There is a case that, the price of the food items is lower in supermarkets than in any other restaurants like Eagle Boys, McDonalds and other restaurants mentioned above. Strengths: Eagle Boys has a well reputation in Australian market in terms of reputation and superior quality pizza to the Aussies. As it is an Australian company by origin, hence the company is aware about the preferences and the tastes of the people in the market when compared to other US fast food retail chains in Australia. Research has proved a fact that Eagle Boys are providing thick crust of the bread in their pizza for attracting people. While the other pizza sellers are providing thin crust in their pizzas. People of many parts of Australia have preferred Eagle Boys mostly than any other brands of pizzas (Kasapila Shaarani, 2016). Weaknesses: Products range of Eagle Boys is relatively low when compared to other direct competitors of fast food retail chains such as Pizza Hut and Dominos. It is seen that being an international brand in Australia, Dominos have the greatest market share compared to other international and domestic fast food restaurants in the country. Eagle Boys being a domestic pizza manufacturing company of Australia has lower market share than Dominos, Yum Street restaurant, etc (Garcia et al., 2012). Positioning map Positioning map in marketing is defined as the diagrammatic representation that is used by the marketers in order to capture the perceptions o the customers i.e. primary segment of customers towards the brand. Positioning map is also known as perceptual map that is used to position the company or the product line or products of the company compared to the rival brands present in the market (Ferguson et al., 2012). In this situation, positioning map for Eagle Boys will be formulated based on the involvement of the customers in the decision making process of the company. The map will describe the position of the company in the market according to the preference of the customers. The determinants of the positioning map are also formulated as per the feedback of the primary segment of target customers. Conclusion The study focuses on the various aspects of Eagle Boys especially in terms of selection of the target segments of customers along with their involvement in the strategic decision making process of the company. This is explained in details in the study. Apart from that, various facts of fast food industry of Australia is explained in terms of growth, profitability and macro environmental factors of the industry in the country. It is pointed out that the fast food market in Australia is almost saturated in terms of competitors and it is in the matured phase. In terms of product development, there are various types of products that are sold by the companies or operators ruling the industry. There is much competition among the main operators of the industry in Australia not only in terms of gaining a substantial market share but also in terms of attracting more customers and improved profitability. In the last part, a positioning map of the company that will illustrate the products and i ts position in the market amongst its other rival companies. Positioning map will be formulated based on the results of the implementation of segmenting, targeting and positioning of the company in terms of determining marketing mix. References Bauer, K. W., Hearst, M. O., Earnest, A. A., French, S. A., Oakes, J. M., Harnack, L. J. (2012). Energy content of US fast-food restaurant offerings: 14-year trends.American journal of preventive medicine,43(5), 490-497. Belasco, W. J. (2014).Appetite for change: How the counterculture took on the food industry. Cornell University Press. Booth, S., Whelan, J. (2014). Hungry for change: the food banking industry in Australia.British Food Journal,116(9), 1392-1404. Dunn, P. K. (2012). Assessing claims made by a pizza chain.Journal of Statistics Education,20(1), 1-19. Ferguson, C. J., Muoz, M. E., Medrano, M. R. (2012). Advertising influences on young childrens food choices and parental influence.The Journal of pediatrics,160(3), 452-455. Garcia, G., Sunil, T. S., Hinojosa, P. (2012). The fast food and obesity link: consumption patterns and severity of obesity.Obesity surgery,22(5), 810-818. Han, E., Powell, L. M., Kim, T. H. (2013). Trends in exposure to television food advertisements in South Korea.Appetite,62, 225-231. Handford, C. E., Dean, M., Henchion, M., Spence, M., Elliott, C. T., Campbell, K. (2014). Implications of nanotechnology for the agri-food industry: Opportunities, benefits and risks.Trends in Food Science Technology,40(2), 226-241. Harris, J. L., Sarda, V., Schwartz, M. B., Brownell, K. D. (2013). Redefining child-directed advertising to reduce unhealthy television food advertising.American Journal of Preventive Medicine,44(4), 358-364. Hearst, M. O., Harnack, L. J., Bauer, K. W., Earnest, A. A., French, S. A., Oakes, J. M. (2013). Nutritional quality at eight US fast-food chains: 14-year trends.American journal of preventive medicine,44(6), 589-594. Hobin, E., White, C., Li, Y., Chiu, M., O'Brien, M. F., Hammond, D. (2014). Nutritional quality of food items on fast-food kids menus: comparisons across countries and companies.Public health nutrition,17(10), 2263-2269. Kasapila, W., Shaarani, S. M. (2016). Legislationimpact and trends in nutrition labeling: A global overview.Critical reviews in food science and nutrition,56(1), 56-64. Lang, T., Heasman, M. (2015).Food wars: The global battle for mouths, minds and markets. Routledge. Louviere, J. J., Carson, R. T., Burgess, L., Street, D., Marley, A. A. J. (2013). Sequential preference questions factors influencing completion rates and response times using an online panel.Journal of Choice Modelling,8, 19-31. Mok, C., Sparks, B., Kadampully, J. (2013).Service quality management in hospitality, tourism, and leisure. Routledge. Moodie, R., Stuckler, D., Monteiro, C., Sheron, N., Neal, B., Thamarangsi, T., ... Lancet NCD Action Group. (2013). Profits and pandemics: prevention of harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol, and ultra-processed food and drink industries.The Lancet,381(9867), 670-679. Morley, B., Scully, M., Martin, J., Niven, P., Dixon, H., Wakefield, M. (2013). What types of nutrition menu labelling lead consumers to select less energy-dense fast food? An experimental study.Appetite,67, 8-15. Nestle, M. (2013).Food politics: How the food industry influences nutrition and health(Vol. 3). Univ of California Press. Sacks, G., Mialon, M., Vandevijvere, S., Trevena, H., Snowdon, W., Crino, M., Swinburn, B. (2015). Comparison of food industry policies and commitments on marketing to children and product (re) formulation in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.Critical Public Health,25(3), 299-319. Wellard, L., Glasson, C., Chapman, K. (2012). Fries or a fruit bag? Investigating the nutritional composition of fast food childrens meals.Appetite,58(1), 105-110.

Why do young people join gangs Essay Example

Why do young people join gangs? Paper A youth/street gang can be defined as a closely or loosely structured group of individuals who may express their identification by adopting certain dress attire, adoption of symbolic behavior to include nicknames of individuals, tattoos, hand signs, and the claiming of territory in a neighborhood (Stagg, 2006). Generally, gang activities include criminal acts of violence, drug dealing, threats, and anti-social behavior. Youth gangs are not simply a large city or inner city problem, nor are they an issue belonging to a particular race or culture. Gang membership crosses all ethnic, racial and geographic boundaries. Recent research data shows that the primary age for recruitment into street gangs is 11-15 years. The average is generally around 18. However, kids as young as nine are considered eligible for recruiting. What is it that attracts the young people to join gangs and undertake a life that is full of danger, crime and illegal activities? Among the various reasons youth give for joining a gang, the following are most common. First, related to social reasons, youth join to be around friends and family members (especially siblings or cousins) who already are part of the gang. Second, regarding protection, youth join for the presumed safety they believe the gang can afford (DeckerVan Winkle, 1996). Also reported by youth, albeit far less frequently, are more instrumental reasons for joining a gang such as selling drugs or making money (Decker Van Winkle, 1996). Thus we find that there are many reasons why young people join gangs and risk factors fall within five domains: the community, the family, the school, the peers and the individual. A variety of factors have been cited as causes for involvement in gangs. We will write a custom essay sample on Why do young people join gangs? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Why do young people join gangs? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Why do young people join gangs? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Social problems associated with gang activity include poverty, racism, and the disintegration of the nuclear family. Some experts have opined that the fact that gangs are glamorized in the media and by the entertainment industry also plays a huge role in influencing the mind of the youth. On a personal level, adolescents whose families are not meeting their emotional needs turn to gangs as substitute families where they can find acceptance, intimacy, and approval. Teenagers also join gangs because of social pressure from friends. Others feel physically unsafe in their neighborhoods if they do not join a gang. For some people, the connection to a gang is through family members who belong-sometimes even several generations of a single family. Yet another incentive for joining is money from the gangs lucrative drug trade. Drug profits can be so exorbitant as to dwarf the income from any legitimate job: teenagers in one suburban high school in the early 1990s were handling $28,000 a week in drug money, with individual profit averaging $5,000 (Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2006). According to the Los Angeles School Police Department, many youth join a gang to satisfy the need of belonging. Gang membership will provide the recognition, the identity, the attention, the support, the acceptance, of their peers. Many gang youth will join the gang to satisfy the need of belonging. It has been found that kids who join gangs generally come from poor or broken homes. This seems to suggest that they get the support and structure they need from gang life. They join gangs to fill their basic needs which usually are not being met at home and at school. These are respect, support, family, recognition, respect, protection, identity, belonging, money, and control. Family plays a very important part in childrens lives. The absence of family support leaves the process of social development open to deviant influence. The weaker the relationship between parents and children, the more chance children will end up in some sort of gang affiliation. Gangs give youth a sense of security and structure that is lacking at home. Other family factors that are related to potential gang participation include: Rigid or ineffective parenting styles which decreases emotional closeness and warmth between parents and children. Family conflicts, which create a highly-distressed relationship between parents and children. If the home environment is cold and uncaring, it affects the developing child. As indicated by Montemayor (1994), children in this type of family are at high risk for a variety of psychological and behavioral problems (Montemayor, 1994). Homes that are lacking structure or adult supervision greatly increase childrens chances of joining gang. For example, if parents are not able to provide structure, support, and supervision, children may turn to gang to fulfill their unfulfilled needs. Similarly, Brantley and Di Rosa (1994) indicate that those youth who willingly join gang do so in an attempt to satisfy needs unfulfilled in other aspects of their lives (Brantley Di Rosa, 1994). The basic needs of youth who join gang may include the lack of family structure, lack of a nurturing home environment, lack of economic opportunity, and/or lack of a sense of belonging (Brantley Di Rosa, 1994).

1. Based on the Case Study and Your Own Research on Competitors, Summarize the Strategic Approaches Which Have Helped Tesco.Com Achieve Success Online. Essay Example

1. Based on the Case Study and Your Own Research on Competitors, Summarize the Strategic Approaches Which Have Helped Tesco.Com Achieve Success Online. Essay Example 1. Based on the Case Study and Your Own Research on Competitors, Summarize the Strategic Approaches Which Have Helped Tesco.Com Achieve Success Online. Essay 1. Based on the Case Study and Your Own Research on Competitors, Summarize the Strategic Approaches Which Have Helped Tesco.Com Achieve Success Online. Essay 1. BASED ON THE CASE STUDY AND YOUR OWN RESEARCH ON COMPETITORS, SUMMARIZE THE STRATEGIC APPROACHES WHICH HAVE HELPED TESCO. COM ACHIEVE SUCCESS ONLINE. Strategic decisions are ones that are aimed at differentiating an organization from its competitors in a way that is sustainable in the future. (Porter, 2002) Porter strongly advocates that decisions in business can be classified as strategic if they involve some innovation and difference that results in sustainable advantage. According to Porter, (2002) operational effectiveness and efficiency are the key elements of success in any organization. A company can outperform its rivals or competitors in the market only with superior management and efficient control creating a difference from the others which eventually attracts customers. Porter defines operational effectiveness as performance of similar activities as its rivals but better than them. A company can perform its rivals only if it can operate in different ways which are not in practice as seen in Tesco. com. After the establishment of various virtual supermarkets, a new phase began when established brick and mortar supermarkets entered the online grocery shopping arena by adopting a ‘click and mortar’ strategy. In the UK there are Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Waitrose. com. These players, by combining the strength of traditional retailing with Internet shopping, have achieved rapid growth. The SWOT analysis of Tesco. com reveals that it is most powerful retail brand, reputation for money, value, commitment, and provides wide range of products. It is growing at a brisk pace with expanding its horizon to other parts of world through acquisition and merger. Tesco. com has good opportunities in markets of European and Asia and focuses on acquiring the market through acquisition of smaller stores and merger or partnering with leaders in the specific markets. Also the success factors of Tesco reveals that Tesco had formulated its strategies around its core competence. These core competences are: PROVIDE POTENTIAL ACCESS TO A WIDE VARIETY OF MARKETS: Enables the creation of new products and services. For instance, Tesco has established a strong leadership in food retailing industry. The core competence that enabled Tesco to enter retailing of food and non-food products was a clear distinctive brand proposition that had a focus on a properly define market segment. Tesco is recognized as the company, providing the most customized and efficient service, based on a good customer relationship management. TESCO MAKES A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE PERCEIVED CUSTOMER BENEFITS OF THE OUTCOME: Delivers a fundamental customer benefit. In order to identify core competences in a particular market, the question of why is the customer willing to pay more or less for one product or service than another- needs to be addressed. For example, Tesco have been very successful in capturing the leadership of the retailing market. This shows that Tesco designs and implements effective supply systems and deliver an efficient customer interface. Tesco was the first UK grocer to launch a loyalty card and has been the most effective. Palmer (2004) claims that until recently, it was the only grocer to use the information to mail customers every month. DIFFICULT FOR COMPETITORS TO IMITATE: Highlights the need for a core competence to be competitively unique. This indicated the importance of product differentiation. For example, for many years up to 2003 (In 2003 Tesco has been recognised a leading UK food retailer) Tesco had a very strong position within the retailing industry. It had a different approach to the service concept, providing good corporate reputation and introducing new premium quality products (MarketWatch, 2004). Tesco. com bases its business strategy on these capabilities. Capabilities result from Tescos ability to combine and exploit these resources in uniquely different ways. STRATEGIES OF TESCO. COM Tesco has been pursuing a dual strategy of cost leadership and differentiation, which has led to an increased importance placed on customer service. Drawing upon Keynote (2010), this dual strategy is exhibited through the development of self-service kiosks, financial services, focused direct marketing and promotions. In order to put Tesco’s value chain analysis into perspective, despite its cost leadership strategy the company has been able to create a high degree of value in comparison with its key competitors. The relative analysis of the value created by the big four supermarket chains, i. . , Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons has been provided as follows: [pic] The following strategic approaches were adapted from the two generic strategies been used by Tesco. com which had made them successful online are as follows: FIRST MOVER OR PIONEER STRATEGY Tesco is seen as the most innovative food retailer in the UK retail market, enjoying the advantages of a first move r or pioneer of online retailer but also striving to avoid the disadvantages that become advantages to followers (Lieberman and Montgomery 1988), such as and continual innovative of products and services. The most important advances were that Tesco was first to the first to introduce internet shopping, first to introduce cut-price products under its own brand name in 1993, first to introduce a customer loyalty programme with the Tesco Club card which was followed by the rival UK chains like Sainsbury and Safeway. Also noteworthy was the launch of its first credit card in 1997 through a joint venture with the Royal Bank of Scotland, which offers points towards its loyalty programme and so has supported the latter and finally it has become the first to launch electronic shopping in the mid-1990s. Through the effective use of information technologies, it was the first retailer to introduce a completely automated replenishment system, aimed at linking in suppliers, and use an advanced scanning programme (barcode reader) from Siemens Nixdorf, aimed at cutting cashier training by up to 60 percent while simultaneously detecting the available stock in the supermarkets. Referring to all these innovations and efforts, IT director, Ian O’Reilly said that they wanted the advantages of being first mover, despite this helping the competition somewhat (Hollinger 1998). Until the follower retailers adapt these novelties to their markets, Tesco is able to exploit the advantages arising from their pre-emptive investments. This is discernible in its turnover and profit. For example By September 2005 online sales in the first half of the year were ? 401 million, a 31% year-on-year increase, and profit increased by 37% to ? 21 million. Tesco. com now receives 170,000 orders each week. Soon it should reach an annual turnover of ? 1 billion online and is generally recognized as the world’s largest. All these revenues were advantages Tesco. com got from being the first mover of online retailer. CUSTOMER FOCUS The best way to make sure customers buy your products and services is to give them exactly what they want. Companies need to take a step back from their offering and try to put themselves in the shoes of their customers. Observing people carefully and analysing how they live their everyday lives needs to be central to the design process. Tesco. com is a prime example. Realising that many of its potential customers didn’t have personal internet access during the day, it made a new online retail outlet available from pocket PC devices and Smartphones, allowing them to shop at home, at work or on the move. Customer-focused design is about getting feedback right through the design process. It’s always effective and can occasionally throw up the unexpected. The company is also very successful in terms of customer loyalty due to its loyalty cards system and its general approach to customizing services to the needs of every customer. This is truly evident in terms of tremendous growth of on-line sales where the company has a strong platform to further develop this revenue stream. After considering the fact that, nowadays majority of people have less time for shopping, Tesco employed this on-line systems and now became the biggest online supermarket. The key business strategy of Tesco is continually to increase value for customers and earn their lifelong loyalty, a strategy that is related to the staff, through appreciation of their contribution, and to the consumers by providing innovative services to meet their needs and wants. Tesco’s strategy is based on ‘customer services’, whose components can be depicted as a pyramid with a cumulative perspective from bottom to top (see Figure 1). The biggest challenge for any business is to keep in touch with customers and be aware of how their needs are changing and be able to respond quickly to their changing needs. Since Tesco want to maximise usage of online channels (web, e-mail and wireless or interactive digital TV where relevant), a distinct, detailed online value proposition (OVP) or online customer value proposition was developed for the target audiences. the online customer proposition did not simply replicated the existing service proposition or brand promise that it is available from offline channels, but it was extended to offer unique online benefits. pic] Source: www. bized. ac. uk/compfact/tesco/tescoindex. htm From the case study Tesco. com focused on improving the customer experience online, the time it takes for a new customer to complete their first order has been decreased from over an hour to 35 minutes through usability work culminating in a major site revision. For their existing customers, e-mail mar keting and direct mail marketing were used to provide special offers and promotions to customers with the intent to satisfy the customer. Tesco also offer delivery to your home service which is an obvious extension of the home-delivered groceries oncept. Tesco claims that its success in online shopping derives from its store-picking approach; Asda fills its online orders from central warehouses. Tesco’s marketing strategy is based on price, quality and service competitiveness. Their ways of achieving these included policies concerning customer service, pricing, product promotions, product range, store design, store refurbishment and advertising on TV, and in the local and national press. These strategies along with the Tesco Club card, which has 10 million active members in the UK, help to preserve customer loyalty. In addition Tesco. om use what they describes as a ‘commitment-based segmentation’ or ‘loyalty ladder’ which is based on recency of purc hase, frequency of purchase and value which is used to identify six (6) lifecycle categories which are then further divided to target communications: â€Å"Logged-on† â€Å"Cautionary† â€Å"Developing† â€Å"Established† â€Å"Dedicated† â€Å"Logged-off† the aim here is to win back). Tesco then use automated event-triggered messaging created to encourage continued purchase. For example, Tesco. com has a touch strategy which includes a sequence of follow-up communications triggered after different events in the customer lifecycle. In the example given below, communications after event 1 are intended to achieve the objective of converting a web site visitor to action; communications after event 2 are intended to move the customer from a first time purchaser to a regular purchaser and for event 3 to reactivate lapsed purchasers. i. Identify customer profile characteristics. This is a traditional segmentation based on the type of customer. For B2C e-retailers this will include age, sex and geography. For B2B companies, this will include size of company and the industry sector or application they operate in. iIdentify behavior in response and purchase. As customers progress through the lifecycle, by analysis of their database, they will be able to build up a detailed response and purchase history which considers the details of recency, frequency, monetary value and category of products purchased (RFM analysis). iii. Identify multi-channel behavior (channel preference). Regardless of the enthusiasm of the company f or online channels, some customers will prefer using online channels and others will prefer traditional channels. This will, to an extent be indicated by RFM and response analysis since customers with a preference for online channels will be more responsive and will make more purchases online. A flag within the database which indicates the customers channel preference and by implications, the best channel to target them by. Customers that prefer online channels can be targeted mainly by online communications such as e-mail, while customers who prefer traditional channels can be targeted by traditional communications such as direct mail or phone. iv. Tone and style preference. In a similar manner to channel preference, customers will respond differently to different types of message. Some may like a more rational appeal in which case a detailed e-mail explaining the benefits of the offer may work best. TOUCH STRATEGY To deliver relevance also requires a plan specifying the number, frequency and type of online and offline communications and offers. This is a contact or touch strategy. A good starting point is to ask ‘what will annoy’ the customer. Clearly if e-mail communications are too frequent, then the customer is less likely to have the time or inclination to open an e-mail. Therefore one approach is to monitor the response for e-mail communications. But higher frequencies will likely lead to higher response. This helps explain the high volume of e-mails sent by Tesco. com to its consumers, which averages between 1 and 2 per week. But Tesco. com have recently been exposed as ‘bombarding UK consumers with a massive e-mail marketing campaign’ Based on the E-mail tracking service E-mail Monitor from Interactive Prospect Targeting Services, Tesco is blitzing the nation with 16-20 million e-mails per month. It reports that in September it issued 44 separate e-mail campaigns last month which was more than Sainsbury, Asda, Waitrose and Somerfield put together. Part of this activity can be explained by Tesco’s market share. A Tesco spokesman was reported as saying ‘More people shop with us online than with anyone else and we do communicate with a lot of them by email. For existing customer E-mail marketing and Direct mail marketing is used to provide special offer and promotion to the customers. In addition Tesco. om basically relies on in-store advertising and marketing to the supermarket’s Clubcard loyalty scheme’s customer base to persuade customers to shop online. DIVERSIFYING THROUGH DIFFERENT RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND SEVICES WHICH LEADS TO CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION In a rapidly changing business environment with a high competitors pressure Tesco have to adopt new expansion strategies or diversified the existing in order to sustain its leading market position in an already established retailing market. Johnson and Scholes (2003) believe that changes in the business environment may create demand for new products and services at the expense of established provision. Ansoffs matrix also suggests that if new products are developed for existing markets, then a product development strategy has to be considered by the management level of a company. This is what management (Laura) of Tesco did. They diversified in both product and services PRODUCT DIVERSIFICATION The Product range development of Telco is also one of the key areas of heir success. From the case, it was noted that they fulfilled all the Grocery order and also offer more intangible offering such as E-diets and music download etc. Tesco also offers broadband and dial-up ISP services, but believe the market for Internet telephony (provided through Skype and Vonage, for example) is not sufficiently developed. Tesco. com concentrated on more traditional services which have the demand, for example, Tesco Telecom fixed-line service s attracted over a million customers in their first year. By May 2005, Tesco. om had 30,000 customers signed up for DVD rental, through partner Video Island (which runs the rival Screen select service). As they were diversify into new area such as Tesco Personal Finance and the telecoms businesses, as well as services offered in partnership with specialist companies, such as dieting clubs, flights and holidays, music downloads, gas, electricity and DVD rentals. It does not currently sell clothing online but in May 2005 it introduced a clothing web site (www. clothingattesco. com), initially to showcase Tesco’s clothing brands and link customers to their nearest store with this range. They also started to make home delivery services to the customers like white goods and other products. In addition to achieve growth in non-foods, Tesco has focused on building its capability in four non-foods Areas: Entertainment Health Beauty Household Clothing. Services diversification Services: Tesco Financial Services Tesco financial services products [pic] Source, tesco: a case study in supermarket excellence july 2004, www. coriolisresearch. com The company build a web site that acts as a portal to most of Tesco’s products and services, including various non-food ranges (for example, ooks, DVDs and electrical items under the ‘Extra’banner), Tesco Personal Finance and the telecoms businesses, as well as services offered in partnership with specialist companies, such as dieting clubs, flights and holidays, music downloads, gas, electricity and DVD rentals. It does not currently sell clothing online but in May 2005 it introduced a clothing web site (www. clot hingattesco. com), initially to showcase Tesco’s clothing brands and link customers to their nearest store with this range. PARTNERSHIP AND STRATEGIC ALLIANCES Tesco also formed partnership, alliance with other companies in order to stay competitive. From the case study the offer services in partnership with specialist companies, such as dieting clubs, flights and holidays, music downloads, gas, electricity and DVD rentals. For example they formed partnership with Video Island (which runs the rival Screen select service) to provide DVD rentals. By May 2005, Tesco. com had 30,000 customers signed up for DVD rental, through partner Video Island. There was another partnership with eDiets and its partnership with eDiets was promoted through the Tesco Clubcard loyalty scheme, with mailings to 10m customers a year. In July 2004, Tesco. com Limited paid ? 2 million for the exclusive licence to eDiets. com in the UK and Ireland under the URLs www. eDietsUK. com and www. eDiets. ie. Through promoting these services through these URLs, Tesco used the dieting business to grow Tesco. com service and in-store sales. In addition Tesco Mobile, the joint ‘pay-as-you-go’ partnered with O2 which is mainly serviced online, to promoted in-store and via direct mail. BRAND VALUE The company has a strong brand image, and is associated with good quality, trustworthy goods that represent excellent value. Tescos innovative ways of improving the customer shopping experience, as well as its efforts to branch out into finance and insurance have also capitalized on the brand name and value. There are companies that have always understood that they were selling brands before the product. Tesco is a brand and also serves as the core strategic advantage. The company was spreading like wildfire transforming the generic into the brand-specific, largely through carefully branded packaging and the promotion of an â€Å"every penny counts† environment. The company has a strong brand image, and is associated with good quality, trustworthy goods that represent excellent value. For eample while all private label products are labeled Tesco, the company uses sub-brands to segment the Market. Tesco private label architecture [pic] Source, tesco: a case study in supermarket excellence july 2004, www. coriolisresearch. com Wal-Mart/Asda challenge: Since the US shopping giant Wal-mart purchased Asda, Tescos rank as the top UK supermarket has been threatened. Asda can now compete extremely well on price and range of goods. For the moment, Asda is the third largest supermarket in the UK, just behind Sainsburys and then Tesco. However, Asda closed the gap on Sainsburys in 2003, leaving the company to directly challenge Tescos dominance. Tesco is well aware of this, and has so far been quick to keep up with price cuts or special offers at Asda. Wal-mart may also decide to wield its buying power more heavily in the UK, and this could spell the end of Tescos brand dominance in the future. Sainsbury was the UKs biggest grocer until 1995, but was recently relegated to third position behind Tesco and Asda. Internal problems and strategic errors have left Sainsbury struggling. The company believed it could abandon the classic focus on price in favour of refurbishing store fascias (their own term for aesthetic design) and supply-chain improvements. Its loss of market share illustrates that price is still the key for many consumers. Asda, owned by US Corporation Wal-Mart since 1999, is the only supermarket with the potential to become a thorn in the side for Tesco. Wal-Mart, with global sales of $256bn in 2003, is the biggest company in the world with annual sales eight times bigger than Tescos. Asda is rumoured to be about to acquire Matalan, the giant discount clothing and home furnishing store. Already, Asdas George range of clothing is the best-selling brand in the UK. Two million of its ? 4 pairs of jeans were sold during 2003-4. Tesco’s latest strategy is to launch Tesco Telecoms, which includes Tesco Mobile and Tesco Talk, a land line service. Tesco Personal Finance has proved a big success as one of Europes fastest growing financial service providers, with over 4 million customer accounts by August 2003, and 50,000 new accounts opening each week. 35 GROWTH STRATEGY First, Tesco developed new products and services to sell to existing customers [pic] Source, tesco: a case study in supermarket excellence july 2004, www. coriolisresearch. com Next, Tesco developed new store formats to capture more customers [pic] Source, tesco: a case study in supermarket excellence july 2004, www. coriolisresearch. com Table 2: Online Survey: Elements Of Business Models In UK Online Supermarkets [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] Source, 17th Bled eCommerce Conference eGlobal, Online Supermarkets: Emerging Strategies And Business Models In The UK In addition From the beginning Tesco. com used one more channel through which toreach its existing customers as well as some new ones. It tried to provide a multi-channel experience to customers it had already attracted. And that strategy allowed Tesco. coms online grocery business to thrive. Tesco’s strong brand, good use of design and innovative approach has helped to minimise customer capture costs. Coupled with its existing IT, retailing and logistics skills, this ‘clicks and mortar’ front-runner looks set to lead the e-retailing pack for some time to come. In summary Tesco explains its growth strategy with two basic diagrams [pic] Source, tesco: a case study in supermarket excellence july 2004, www. coriolisresearch. com CONCLUSION The success of the Tesco shows how far the branding and effective service delivery can come in moving beyond splashing ones logo on a billboard. It had fostered powerful identities by making their retailing concept into a virus and spending it out into the culture via a variety of channels: cultural sponsorship, political controversy, and consumer experience and brand extensions. 2. DISCUSS SOME OF THE LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED BY MANAGEMENT AS IT EMBARKS ON MOBILE TRANSACTION, DEALING WITH CLIENTS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD. Businesses that operate on the Web must comply with the same laws and regulations that govern the operations of all businesses. If they do not, they face the same penalties- including fines, reparation payments, court-imposed dissolution, and even jail time for officers and owners- that any business faces. Laws in the physical world do not apply to people who are not located in or do not own assets in the geographic area that reated those particular laws. For example, the United States cannot enforce its copyright laws on a citizen of Ghana who is doing business in Ghana and owns no assets in the United States. Any assertion of power by the United States over such a Ghanaian citizen would conflict with the Ghanaian government’s recognized authority over its citizens. Ghanaian citizens who bring goods into the United States to sell, however, are subject to applicable U. S. copyright laws. A Ghanaian Web site that offers delivery of goods into the United States is, similarly, subject to applicable U. S. laws. The level of power asserted by a government is limited to that which is accepted by the culture that exists within its geographic boundaries. Ideally, geographic boundaries, cultural groupings, and legal structures all coincide. When they do not, internal strife and civil wars can erupt. Once businesses begin operating online, they found that traditional effects-based measures did not apply as well and that the laws based on these measures did not work well either. For example, France has a law that prohibits the sale of Nazi memorabilia. The effects of this law were limited to people in France and they considered it reasonable. U. S. laws do not include a similar prohibition because U. S. culture makes a different tradeoff between the value of memorabilia (in general) and the negative cultural memory of Nazism. When U. S. -based online auction sites began hosting auctions of Nazi memorabilia, those sites were in compliance with U. S. laws. However, because of the international nature of the Web, these auctions were available to people around the world, including residents of France. In other words, the effects of U. S. culture and law were being felt in France. The French government ordered Yahoo! Auctions to stop these auctions. Yahoo! argued that it was in compliance with U. S. law, but the French government insisted that the effects of those Yahoo! auctions extended to France and thus violated French law. To avoid pro-tracted legal actions over the jurisdiction issue, Yahoo! decided that it would no longer carry such auctions. The levels of authority and autonomy with which governments of various countries operate vary significantly from one country to another. Online businesses must be ready to deal with a wide variety of regulations and levels of enforcement of those regulations as they expand their businesses to other countries. This can be difficult for smaller businesses that operate on the Web. Physical boundaries are a convenient and effective way to announce the ending of one legal or cultural system and the beginning of another. The physical boundary, when crossed, provides notice that one set of rules has been replaced by a different set of rules. Notice is the expression of such a change in rules. People can obey and perceive a law or cultural norm as fair only if they are notified of its existence. Borders provide this notice in the physical world. The legal systems of most countries include a concept called constructive notice. People receive constructive notice that they have become subject to new laws and cultural norms when they cross an international border, even if they are not specifically warned of the changed laws and norms by a sign or a border guard’ s statement. Thus, ignorance of the law is not a sustainable defense, even in a new and unfamiliar jurisdiction. This concept presents particular problems for online businesses, because they may not know that customers from another country are accessing their Web sites. Thus, the concept of notice does not translate very well to online business. The tasks of defining, establishing, and asserting jurisdiction are much more difficult on the Internet than they are in the physical world, mainly because traditional geographic boundaries do not exist. For example, a Swedish company that engages in electronic commerce could have a Web site that is entirely in English and a URL that ends in â€Å". com,† thus not indicating to customers that it is a Swedish firm. The server that hosts this company’ s Web page could be in Canada, and the people who maintain the Web site might work from their homes in Australia. If a Mexican citizen buys a product from the Swedish firm and is unhappy with the goods received, that person might want to file a lawsuit against the seller firm. However, the world’s physical border-based systems of law and jurisdiction do not help this Mexican citizen determine where to file the lawsuit. The Internet does not provide anything like the obvious international boundary lines in the physical world. Thus, the four considerations that works so well in the physical world; power, effects, legitimacy, and notice, do not translate very well to the virtual world of electronic commerce. Governments that want to enforce laws regarding business conduct on the Internet must establish jurisdiction over that conduct. A contract is a promise or set of promises between two or more legal entities. If either party to a contract does not comply with the terms of the contract, the other party can sue for failure to comply, which is called breach of contract. A tort is an intentional or negligent action (other than breach of contract) taken by a legal entity that causes harm to another legal entity. People or corporations that wish to enforce their rights based on either contract or tort law must file their claims in courts with jurisdiction to hear their cases. A court has sufficient jurisdiction to hear a matter if it has both subject-matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. Businesses should be aware of jurisdictional considerations when conducting mobile commerce over state and international lines. In most states, the extent to which these laws apply to companies doing business over the Internet is unclear. Because these procedural laws were written before mobile commerce existed, their application to Internet transactions continues to evolve as more and more disputes arise from online commercial transactions. The trend in this evolving law is that the more business activities a company conducts in a state, the more likely it is that a court will assert personal jurisdiction over that company through the application of a long-arm statute. One exception to the general rule for determining personal jurisdiction occurs in the case of tortious acts. A business can commit a tortious act by elling a product that causes harm to a buyer. The tortious act can be a negligent tort, in which the seller unintentionally provides a harmful product, or it can be an intentional tort, in which the seller knowingly or recklessly causes injury to the buyer. The most common business-related intentional torts involve defamation, misrepresentation, fraud, and theft of trade secrets. Although case law is rapid ly developing in this area also, courts tend to invoke their respective states’ long-arm statutes much more readily in the case of tortious acts than in breach of contract cases. If the matter involves an intentional tort or a criminal act, courts will assert jurisdiction more liberally. Courts asked to enforce the laws of other nations sometimes follow a principle called judicial comity, which means that they voluntarily enforce other countries ’ laws or judgments out of a sense of comity, or friendly civility. However, most courts are reluctant to serve as forums for international disputes. Also, courts are designed to deal with weighing evidence and making findings of right and wrong. International disputes often require diplomacy and the weighing of costs and benefits. Courts are not designed to do cost –benefit evaluations and cannot engage in negotiation and diplomacy. Thus, courts (especially U. S. courts) prefer to have the executive branch of the government (primarily the State Department) negotiate international agreements and resolve international disputes. The difficulties of operating in multiple countries are faced by many large companies that do business online. For example, eBay, which had struggled to compete in China for many years, finally closed its operations in the country in 2006. eBay entered China in 2003 with a $30 million investment. In subsequent years, it poured another $250 million into acquisitions and advertising in China. But the effort to compete effectively against Alibaba. com’s TaoBao consumer auction unit failed. Some observers believe that a Chinese cultural tendency to favor home-grown online services was primarily to blame for eBay’s failure. But many others noted that the Chinese government made it difficult for eBay to operate in China by passing laws that favored companies that were majority-owned by Chinese entities and that blocked eBay’s PayPal unit from operating in China. Some have even accused the Chinese government of intentionally blocking access to eBay’s site for a few minutes each day so that Chinese competitors (some of which are owned, in part or completely, by the Chinese government) would appear to be more reliable. Because eBay was a foreign company, it was at a considerable disadvantage regarding government regulation and many have argued that this disadvantage was a larger factor in its failure than cultural issues. [pic] Source, electronic commerce Conflict of Laws; In the United States, business is governed by federal laws, state laws, and local laws. Sometimes, these laws address the same issues in different ways. Lawyers call this situation a conflict of laws. Since online businesses usually serve broad markets that span many localities and many states, they generally look to federal laws for guidance. On occasion, this can lead to problems with state and local laws. Jurisdictional issues are complex and change rapidly. Any business that intends to conduct business online with customers or vendors in other countries should consult an attorney who is well versed in issues of international jurisdiction. However, there are a number of resources online that can be useful to non-lawyers who want to do preliminary investigation of a legal topic such as jurisdiction. The Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet Society Web site includes links to many current Internet-related legal issues. The UCLA Online Institute for Cyberspace Law and Policy contains an archive of legal reference materials published between 1995 and 2002, important years in the development of online law. LEGALITY vs ETHNICS | |LEGAL |ILLEGAL |ETHNICAL |1 |2 | |UNETHNICAL |3 |4 | Illegal acts break the law while unethical acts may not be illegal. Any business process or activity that falls under quadrant 1 is considered legal and ethical; quadrant 2 is considered ethnical but illegal, quadrant3 is considered legal but unethical and quadrant 4 is considered illegal and unethical. Depending on the cultural and religious background of the people in a geographical location which a company wants to operate in, management must decide the type of product or service that would fall either in quadrant 1 or 3 as any of the other two quadrant would mean the company is operating any illegal business. OTHER MAJOR LEGAL AND ETHNICAL ISSUES IN MOBILE COMMERCE In addition to the above Management must also address following; i. Privacy issues in relation to management of customer collected information and cookies design on the company†s website. i. Intellectual property iii. Free speech iv. Taxation v. Computer crime vi. Consumer protection REFERENCES Strategic Management: A Case study of Walmart Inc, articlesbase. com/strategic-planning-articles/strategic-management-a-case-study-of-walmart-inc-945260. html, Ivory Research Ltd. Tomlinson, H. Evans, R. (2010), ‘Tesco stocks up on inside knowledge of shoppers’ lives’, Guardian, September 20, 2010. g uardian. co. uk/business/2005/sep/20/freedomofinformation. supermarkets [accessed 07/07/2010] Turban, E. , Rainer, R. K. Potter, R. E. 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